Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Sells 142 Shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL)

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC lowered its holdings in Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,372 shares of the company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Colgate-Palmolive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Colgate-Palmolive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CL opened at $96.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $78.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.84 and a 200 day moving average of $95.11. Colgate-Palmolive has a twelve month low of $85.32 and a twelve month high of $109.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 477.77%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 21st. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on CL. StockNews.com raised Colgate-Palmolive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price objective on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Colgate-Palmolive from $96.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.61.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.